“Yeah, I know,” Cadence said.
Just then, the lights dimmed around the restaurant while spotlights that focused on the stage brightened. Tyler and Garrett returned just at the right moment. They each slid a glass of wine in front of their respective partners.
Before either Cadence or Eleanor could say thank you, however, an emcee took the stage.
“Hi, all,” she called exuberantly. “Great crowd tonight! On behalf of the staff of Anchor Bar, we’re very excited to see you. Now, I know none of you are here to listen to me, so I’ll keep it brief. First up tonight, we have…” She glanced down the clipboard of signups. “First up, we have June Caldwell. Give it up for June, everybody!”
The whole restaurant erupted into cheers of excitement, but the loudest hooting and hollering came, of course, from the section of June’s friend. Benjamin briefly stood up on the booth seat, Diana keeping a hand on him to keep him from losing his balance.
“Yay, Mommy!” he called, hands cupped over his mouth.
June paused as she mounted the short stage at the sound of Benjamin’s voice. The anxious look on her face faded, briefly, into softness. She likely couldn’t see him properly, due to the lights, but she blew a kiss in Benjamin’s direction.
“We love you, June!” Miriam called out.
June smiled as she crossed to the mic.
“Hi, everybody,” she said. “I’m June, and, uh… well, it’s been a long time for me, so be gentle.”
The opening notes of a country song from the ‘90s, one that Eleanor faintly recognized, began to play. June opened her mouth, sucked in a breath, and?—
Andknocked it out of the park.
She’d only been singing for about ten seconds before Eleanor realized that she had her hands pressed to her mouth in astonishment and glee. This was… it was about a million times better than the impromptu performance Eleanor had overheard in the diner.
As she kept singing, the entire room grew silent. Conversations died as everyone turned to watch June, rapt expressions on their faces. She sang and sang, her voice soaring higher and higher.
Eleanor watched, delighted, as June’s confidence grew before her very eyes. She began to get into her performance, moving from side to side in time with the music. She belted out the song’s final crescendo.
When she was done, the room was perfectly silent for a beat, then two.
And then the applause wasthunderous.
People, and not even the people in their little group, leapt to their feet. Miriamwhooped so loud that Benjamin covered his ears and gave the older lady a betrayed look. She grinned down at the little boy.
And, up on the stage, June’s grin was bright enough to light up the entire restaurant.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Well, that’s the final touch added, but you should definitely check my work, because you’ve got the eye for things, and—whoa.”
Cadence grinned at the dumbstruck look on Tyler’s face as he caught her checking her reflection in the mirror. Today was the day, the opening of the new showcase she’d been planning these past few months at the gallery.
“What do you think?” she asked, tugging the lapels of her blazer. She didn’t always get to wear her fanciest work wear, since the overall vibe of the gallery was generally more on the casual side, and she liked getting to occasionally bust out her smart outfits.
“What do I think?” Tyler asked, sidling up behind her. She smiled at him through the mirror. “I think that we should delay the opening by, oh, two or three hours? And then we should spend that entire time smoochin’.”
She laughed, spinning in his arms to press her hands against his shoulders. “You did not just say ‘smoochin’’. What are you, a cowboy?”
He tipped an imaginary hat. “If it pleases ya, ma’am,” he said in an accent that would have fit right in with the cast of a Spaghetti Western.
She laughed again, then gave him one quick kiss… or smooch, as he was apparently determined to call it.
“There’s no way we can reschedule at this point, as great as your idea sounds. Honestly, I can’t believe we made it in time. The original timeline I set was a bit…”
“Ambitious?” he supplied.
“I was going to say bonkers, but yours is nicer.”
